After midnight, the lamps in several of the large tents in the army camp on the grasslands had all gone dark.

A grassland without war was especially peaceful.

Except for the brothers on night watch, everyone else had gone to rest.

Feng Jiu’er was no exception — with Qiao Mu and Jian Yi guarding her, there was no way she could have stayed up reading by lamplight even if she’d wanted to.

And so, having slept for a full day and night already, she was given yet another good night’s rest.

The next day, everyone woke at dawn as usual.

After breakfast, a carriage set off, followed by more than a dozen horses, each ridden by one person.

The whole group headed toward the other side of the grassland.

Their destination was the small valley Lei Shenbao had mentioned.

In the early morning hours, a scout had reported back that Lei Shenbao had indeed entered the valley.

The brothers led by Yang Sheng were already secretly hidden in the mountains surrounding the valley, watching every move within.

Sitting in the carriage, Feng Jiu’er didn’t waste a single opportunity to read.

She would only occasionally lift the curtain to glance outside; the rest of the time, she pored over the books Feng Yinan had sent back overnight.

Feng Jiu’er lifted the curtain once more, glanced out, then let it fall and settled back into her reading, reassured.

“Worried about Jian Yi?” Qiao Mu, sitting beside her, asked in a low voice.

“Mm.” Feng Jiu’er nodded. “Otherwise I wouldn’t have refused to let him into our tent last night.”

“That man is so single-minded — if he ever decided he couldn’t bear it and walked off, I wouldn’t even know where to start looking for him.”

It wasn’t unprecedented for Jian Yi to slip away quietly so as not to be a burden to her.

“This time, he won’t leave.” Qiao Mu withdrew her gaze from Feng Jiu’er and lifted the curtain on her own side.

“You can guarantee that?” Feng Jiu’er didn’t look up.

“After you fell asleep last night, he woke up and watched you the whole night. Leaving — he couldn’t bring himself to do it,” Qiao Mu replied flatly.

Only then did Feng Jiu’er look up at her, brows knitting. “So he was pretending to be asleep from the start?”

“I wouldn’t know.” Qiao Mu let the curtain fall and turned back. “In any case, Jian Yi isn’t the Jian Yi he used to be. Be careful with yourself.”

“And here you are still reading at a time like this — today’s battle won’t be an easy one.”

“Fine, I know.” Feng Jiu’er kept reading.

Hearing Qiao Mu sigh, she went on, “Since it’s already been decided, there’s no use worrying yourself sick over it.”

“How could I not worry?” Qiao Mu rolled her eyes at her. “With Little Jiang not here right now, as the sister-in-law, shouldn’t I be doing everything I can to keep you safe?”

Feng Jiu’er looked up again, meeting Qiao Mu’s gaze, the corner of her mouth curving into a smile.

“All right, sister-in-law, I know you care about me. Don’t worry — just take care of yourself.”

Qiao Mu rolled her eyes and lay back down.

“Lei Shenbao, I’m not too worried about. The one I’m most worried about is Jian Yi.”

“You know full well he’s under the effects of the demonic affliction, and yet you keep him by your side, even sleeping in the same place as him — it’s not proper!”

“Watch your mouth!” Feng Jiu’er shot Qiao Mu a look, lowering her head for who knew how many times now.

“Last night, you, Xiao Yingtao, Xing Zizhou, and Yu Jingfeng — so many people were in that one tent. It wasn’t just me and Jian Yi alone.”

“If the Ninth Imperial Uncle heard you say that, he’d probably get angry all over again.”

“If you’re afraid he’ll be angry, then the best thing to do now would be to lock Jian Yi up.” Qiao Mu still held to her own opinion.

“Jian Yi isn’t witless — he understands. Even if the whole world wanted to hurt you, it wouldn’t be Jian Yi’s turn to do it.”

“Listen to yourself — even he’s said as much himself, and you still won’t take it seriously. If he really does fall fully under the affliction and hurts you, he’ll… you — he’ll never forgive himself for the rest of his life.”

“All right, let’s not talk about this anymore.” Feng Jiu’er held out her palm, placing it in front of her.

“How could I possibly lock Jian Yi up? Even you couldn’t bring yourself to do it, could you?”

Just as Feng Jiu’er said this, Jian Yi happened to be riding his horse close to the carriage.

His thick brows drew together, and his eyes darkened noticeably.

Suddenly, he stopped his approach toward the carriage, glanced up at Zhao Yusheng, pulled on his reins, and rode after him.

Jian Yi said something to Zhao Yusheng, then turned his horse and rode back.

Yu Jingfeng watched Jian Yi leave without saying anything — if anything, he looked relieved.

He wasn’t worried right now about whether Jian Yi was constantly hovering near Young Miss Jiu’er — that had always been the norm anyway.

What mattered most was that it was now almost certain Jian Yi had been afflicted by sorcery.

The night before, one could say that for however long Jian Yi had watched Feng Jiu’er, Yu Jingfeng had watched Jian Yi for just as long.

But, in truth, Yu Jingfeng had eventually fallen asleep after all.

After all, he hadn’t dared sit up and openly stare at Jian Yi — he could only lie there and steal glances.

And so, lying there like that, having gone two days without proper rest, Yu Jingfeng had simply dropped off to sleep.

It was just that he wouldn’t admit to having failed in his duty like that.

With Qiao Mu saying Jian Yi wouldn’t leave, Feng Jiu’er felt somewhat reassured.

For the next half hour or so, she didn’t lift the curtain to look outside again.

She couldn’t go ask Sister Hua for help right now — she could only rely on herself.

Moreover, the demonic arts and formations within the Feng Clan were far more numerous than those of the Bei Mu Kingdom; she needed to study them properly.

This time it was Jian Yi — next time, who knew who it might be. She wouldn’t allow herself to remain ignorant of such matters.

After reading for over half an hour, Feng Jiu’er’s neck began to ache.

She set down the book, raised both arms to stretch, and was about to get up to move around a bit.

Before she could stand, she realized it had been a while since she’d seen that face.

Feng Jiu’er leaned over and lifted the curtain to look outside.

No Jian Yi?

Her small head kept turning to look out, but she still couldn’t find any sign of him.

That wasn’t right!

“Yu Jingfeng.” Feng Jiu’er called out, looking at him.

Yu Jingfeng turned his head at the sight of the little head poking out of the carriage and rode closer.

“Young Miss Jiu’er, what are your orders?”

“Yu Jingfeng, where’s Jian Yi? Why haven’t I seen him?” Feng Jiu’er asked, her crescent brows furrowing.

“He left,” Yu Jingfeng replied.

“Left?” Feng Jiu’er’s brows knit tightly at once, her eyes widening.

“When did this happen? Weren’t you supposed to be watching him? How could he have left — where did he go?”

Feng Jiu’er was so anxious she nearly climbed out of the carriage window.

“Young Miss Jiu’er, I’m sorry!” Yu Jingfeng lowered his head.

Seeing him like this, Feng Jiu’er found she couldn’t muster the anger to scold him even if she wanted to.

Everyone knew they were all worried about Jian Yi — and besides worrying about Jian Yi, they were also worried about her.

Jian Yi had always stuck close to her side; they worried Jian Yi might hurt her, didn’t they?

But while Jian Yi might seem somewhat foolish, he was actually a sensitive person.

They doubted him — especially her — and if even she didn’t trust him, he would surely feel terrible.

Feng Jiu’er didn’t know how deeply this affliction called the demonic snare had affected Jian Yi; every time she thought of the tears he’d shed, she found herself even less willing to hurt his feelings.

“No.” Her crescent brows furrowed. “I can’t leave him behind.”

—